Electrically operated flag shaft



Dec. 1, 1936. 2,062,558

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED FLAG SHAFT THROWING MECHANISM G. C. COII Filed Jun 19, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 [NVEgViU/f Grover C. C0 2 A TTORNE V Dec. 1, 1936. c, COIL 2,062,558

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED FLAG SHAFT THROWING MECHANISM Filed June 19, 1931 .4 Sheets-Sheet 2 11v VENTOR Grover C C'OI'Z A TTORNE Y Dec. 1, 1936. G, IL 2,062,558

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED FLAG SHAFT THROWING MECHANISM Filed June 19, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 11v VENTOR Grquer C ("01' A TTORNE Y Dec. 1, 1936. I c cb 2,062,558

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED FLAG SHA'FT THROWING MECHANISM Fi led June 19, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VENTOR Grover C. C01

21 TTORNE y Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PQA-TENTfoFFICE ELECTRICALLY OPERATED FLAG SHAFT I THROWING MECHANISM Girover C. C'oil, Dayton, OhiiYassjignor, by mesne' assignments, to CentraLUnit'edNatio-nal Bank, Cleveland, Ohio, as trustee 7 Application June 19,1931, Serial 'No. 545,542

' 12 Claims. ((21. 235-30),"

Operators of fleets of taxicabs have, for a long period of time, realized that there was more or less so-called high flagging by the drivers. By "high flagging is meant that the driver carries a 5 passenger without throwing the taximeter flag which would place the taximeter into operation. The driver fails to throw the flag with the intention of defrauding the operating company by pocketing the money collected.

10 Various attempts'have been made to prevent this evil by providing means'which would cause the flag to be thrown into operative position when the passenger takes his seat, such as, for instance, to short circuit the motor and one pat 15 ent shows mechanical means consisting of a series of complicated levers whereby'the flag is thrown to its operative position'w'hen the passenger takes his seat but no means is shown in the said patent. wherebythe flag could be made 20 to move beyond its operative position. It has also beenproposed to'pro-vide a solenoid which,

release a catch and a spring would'throw the flag to its operative position. 5 05 This invention is particularly adapted for that class of taximeters in which the flag shaft does not make a complete rotation. For instance, in the patent to J. F. Ohmer and E. H. Bridenbaugh 1,136,164, patented April 20, 1915, struture is 30 shown whereby the flag is moved by the operator from its home position for approximately 102 degrees to its operative position, which flag shaft positions the various parts of the taximeter so as to accumulate the proper fares.- Means are 35 provided so that if the vehicle should be stopped through no fault of the passenger, such as a blowout or a prolonged trafiic delay, the flag could be manually thrown from its recording position to its non-recording position which is approxi- 49 mateiy 180 degrees from its home position. When the trafiic delay had ceased the flag could be manually thrown in a reverse direction to its recording position but before taking a print of the fare and other indicia which is printed by the mechanism shown in the said patent it is necessary to throw the flag to its 180 degree position or its non-recording position and then the operator is required to turn a printing hand crank which prints the record and also returns 50 the flag and the flag shaft to their home position. This movement of the flag which is imparted by the printing hand crank is in a reverse direction to that initiallyimparted by the driver to the flag to throw the flag shaft into its operating position. The normal operation of the. flag. would therefore, clockwise from its vacant or home position to its recording or 102 degree position and clockwise from this position to its nch-recording or 180 degree position.

:When the hand crank is turned the flag is rotated anti-clockwise from its 102 degree to its zero or home position and while this is being done a .record'is'prin'tedon a ticket which is handed to the passenger and on a record which is retained withinithe machine. .3 This invention pertains to means to automatically throw a flag such as position even though the flag is held against such rotation. Another object of the invention is toiprovidemeans whereby. theflag will be lighted whenever the taxicab is occupied by a passenger. Other. objects of the invention will appear in the :detailed specification and claims which follow.

when thepassenger would take his seat; would V 1. Figure 1. is a right hand elevational view of the -machine with a part of the casing broken away In the drawings:

to expose certain-of the gears positioned therein. Figure 2 is a similar view of the left hand side of the machine: 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view taximeter. r

" Figure 4 is a top plan view of the motor driving mechanism.

Figure 5 is a sketch of a. taxicab with certain parts of this invention incorporated thereon.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical system employed in conjunction with this invention.

Figure 7 is an elevational view, partly in crosssection, of the automatic means to throw the flag shaft with the flagomitted.

Figure -8 is an elevational view, principally in cross-section, on the line 88 of Figure '7 looking in the direction of the arrow but including the lower portion of the flag.

Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the mechanism shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a rear view of a notch closing member.

Figure 11 is a rear view of the lower portion of the flag and parts mounted thereon, and

Figure 12 is a diagrammatic view of a modification of the electrical system shown in Figure 6.

The taximeter casing I is provided with a flag shaft 2 on which is mounted a gear 3 which meshes with and is driven by a gear 4 mounted on a Stud 5, which gear 4 meshes with and is driven by a gear 6 mounted on a stud I, which gear 6 meshes with and is driven by a gear 8 secured to a shaft 9 which has a tongue and groove connection with a shaft In so that the flag shaft 2 is rotated by the shaft ID. All of the said gears are of the same size so that when the flag I l is in its vacant position, as shown in full lines in Figure l, the [flag shaft will be in its vacantupqfsition. When the flag is in its intermediate or recording position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 the flag shaft 2 will be in position'so that the mechanism controlled thereby, as described in the said patdotted lines in Figure 1, which is its non-record;

ing position, After it is thrown in this position it f its relative position although it would not really may be returned to its zero positionby means or,

a gear 12 which meshes with and is drivenby a. gear l3 which is secured by means of pins"l4to"a gear l5 mounted on a shaft l6,'which gear 15 meshes'with and is "driven by a pinion ll secured to a shaft l8 which also has secured-thereto a hand crank 19. When this hand crank is rotated in the direction of the'arrow (Figure'Zfithe. flag will be rotated from its180 degree'position. reversely to its zero position and the printing mechanism shown in the said patent will be'operated by the said hand crank. In the'-'taximeter,-as heretofore. manufactured, the flag has: been: directly secured to the shaft 10 but Iproposeato provide means whereby the flag shaft will be automatically thrown "to its recording position when a passenger occupies the vehicle andlforthis reason and for reasons to be hereafter; mentioned, I'mountthe flag rotatably on the said flag shaft. 1 1:

In Figure 4, Ishow a'conventional .motor provided with a motor shaft 2| on which is mounted a worm 22 which meshes with and drives agea'r. 23 mounted on ashaft 24. SSecure'd to the gear 23 or to the shaft 24 is a gear 25 which meshes with and'drives a gear 28 secured to a shaft 21 which is housed by a housing 28 (Figure 1). A worm 29 is secured to the shaft 21 and meshes with and drives a pinion.30 secured to a stud shaft 3|. A gear 32 is secured to the stud shaft 3i and meshes with and drives a gear 33 which is loosely mounted on the shaft Hi. The inner face of the gear 33 is provided with insulation 34 for approximately 90 degrees, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 7. The gear 33 is provided with a pin 35 on which is mounted a pawl 36 having a tail 3'! which may be engaged by a-circular plate 38 (Figure 7) which holds the nose of the pawl 33 out of engagement with a flange 39 carriedby a block 40 secured to the shaft ID by means of a pin 4|. The circumference of the block 49 is composed of fiber insulation 42 with the exception of a metal strip 43 and a brass circular plate 44 which is mounted on the insulating material 42 and is, therefore, insulated from the block 49. The plate 44 may bemade of any conductingmaterial, as a matter of fact, and it should extend for slightly more than 102 degrees of the circumference of the block 40. The metal strip 43, as a matter of fact, maybe simply a part of the block 40 which is made of any conducting metal. Rotatably mounted on a hub 45 connecting the flange 39 to the block 40 isa notch closing member 46 provided with two circular slots 41 through which extend pins 48 carried by the block 40, which pins serve as a guiding and limiting means for the notch closing'member 46. .The said member 46 is provided with a flange 49 which extends flush with the perimeter of the flange 39 carried by the block 40, which flange 49 is also provided with a notch 50 similar to the notch 5| in the flange 39. The notch closing member 46 is provided with two out-standing ears 52 and 53, the ear 52 being adapted to engage the end 54 of the circular plate 38 and the ear 53-being adapted to engage a lug 55 likewise carried'by the circular plate 38. The flag II is loosely mounted on the shaft l0 and is provided with a hub 56 provided with a circular slot 51 into which extends a pin 58. The slot 51 is-approximately 102 degrees in extent. The hub 56 carries a pin 59 on which is mounted a pawl 69 having an olf-set' ear 6|. In Figure 7, I have shown pawl 60 in dotted lines in order to indicate be seen in this ,figure for it is mounted on the hub53 of the flag. The inner end of the pawl 60 is"pressed inwardly towards the shaft in by means of a spring 62; It is also-i provided with, an oppositely extending arm 63 adapted to be engaged by a circular plate 64 which extends for approximately- 102 degrees. The ear 6| when pressed inwardly bymeans of the spring 52 when the arm 831s released will engage within a notch 65 in the block 43, the outer portion of the block being cut away, as' shown at 66 in Figure 8, so as to accommodate the ear 6|. A spring 31 is coiled around the shaft l0 and has its opposite ends embedded in the block 40 and the hub 56 of the flag- I I. A block of insulating material 68 is secured to the frame-work of the machine and on this block .is mounteda conducting plate 69 hav- 'ing- ,a;spring contact arm 10 which engages with the insulation 34 when the said insulation is adjacentthe same. and, if not, with the gear 33. The

conducting platev 59 has also secured thereto a spring zcontact arm H which presses against either the metal strip. 43 or when the block 49 has-been rotated it presses against the insulation 42. -Th e ins ulating block 68 also has attached thereto a spring contact 12 which presses against the insulating material 42 or the brass circular -plate. 44z ';The hub 56 of the flag is provided with an insulating plate 13 to which is attached a con- ;tact "which engages the circular plate 44. A vlead fi5 extends from the contact 14 to a light itting on the seat. In case the folding seats are used for extra passengers, similar switches could be placed within said folding seats or so as to be closed when the said seats are lowered, if desired.vv From, these contacts a lead 8| extends to the motor 29 and also to a lead 82 connected to the spring contact 32. A lead 83 extends from the motor to the conducting plate 69. The shaft iii isgrounded and as the gear 33, which is made of conducting material and mounted thereon, is connected to thespringbontact 10a .circuit through the said contact 70 is completed when the .springcontact is in contact with the gear 33 but is broken when it is in contact with the insulating material 34. Likewise, as the spring contact I i normally engages the metal strip 43, which is. attachedrto the conducting block 49 which is mounted on the shaft ID, the circuit through the spring contact H is normally closed but as soon. as. the metal strip.. 43 passes out of engage- 1 In-operation the ment with the spring contact 4| and the fiber insulation 42 engages the said spring contact 4|, the circuit through the spring contact H is broken. However, both the circuits through the contacts" and II will be broken unless a passenger is occupyingthe vehicle and thereby closing the contacts 80. The flag is lit the moment a passenger takes his seat for the contacts 80 will then bei closed andthe flag will be almostrinstantly thrown so as to bring the plate 44 into engagementwith the spring contact 12 and the circuit will becompleted through the contact-- 14 and leadrl5. 1: i l flag is normally infull line position shown in 1 and=2 which is the same position as that shown in Figures-5 and 6. When a passenger enters the vehicle his weight closes the contacts 88 and thereby closesthe .circuit from the lead 19 through the lead 8|;to

the motor 20 and lead 83 to the spring contact "H which, as shown'in Figure 9, is in engagement with the metal strip. 43 from whence; the current passes to the ground through the shaft l0. When the gear 33 is in normal position, that is, with the flag in vacant position, the. insulation 34 on the gear 33 holds the contact 10 out of engagement with-said gear and the completed circuit is made through the contact I and not through the contact l0. When, however, the passenger takes his! remembered that the metal strip 43 has remained stationary up until the time that the pawl 35 engages thenotch 5|. The tail 3'! of the pawl 36 passes beyond the circular plate 38 and thereafter thenose of the pawl 36 is pressed against the flange 39 of the block 40 by means of a spring 83. When the nose of thepawl 36 reaches the notch 5| in the flange 39 it drives the block 148, moving the metal strip 43 beyond the spring contact II, but simultaneously with this occurrence the insulation 34 carried by the gear 33 moves beyond the'spring contact I so that the circuit is now completed through the contact 70 and gear 33 so that the motor continues to drive the gear 33 and block 48, which is secured to the shaft I8, until the shaft. ID has been rotated for approximately 102 degrees or whatever proper number of degrees which would be required to bring the flag shaft 2 into its recording position, at which time the gear 33 will have made one complete revolution so as to bring the insulation 34 into engagement with the spring contact 10 thereby breaking the circuit. The gear 33 will run on a short distance until it idles down to a stop but this distance is never sufliciently great to move the insulation out of engagement with the spring contact It. All driving connection through the motor is now broken and the flag shaft has been rotated to its operative position through the gearing shown in Figure 1.

Normally the flag would have partaken of the motion of the shaft l0 because it is interconnected with the said shaft by means of the spring 81. If, however, the operator placed some obstruction in the way of the flag so that it could not rotate, the shaft l0 would rotate anyhow against the tension of the spring 61 so that a dishonest driver would have accomplished nothing by blocking the flag so that it could not be moved. If for any reason the current was off or some of the leads connected with the motor werev broken sothat the automatic flag shaft throwing means was inoperative, it would still be the duty of the driver to manually throw the flag to its recordingposition when a passenger occupied the .vehicle; He can do this because the pin 58 carried bythe block'4fl engages the end of the cir- .cular slot so that if he grasped the flag and pressed downwardly on it the end of the slot 51 would rotate the block 40 by means of the pin 58 thereby rotating the shaft l0 and the flag shaft 2.

In the above mentioned instance where the driver attempts a fraud by blocking the flag against rotation, the pin 58 would move to the other end of the slot 51 and when he later turned the flag loose the spring 61 would rotate the flag moving the slotv 51 so that the pin 58 would again lie in the lower end thereof, as viewed in Figure 11. r

If it is necessary to throw the flag to the nonrecording position, as it would be if the vehicle was stopped for a prolonged period of time when it was no fault of the passenger, the flag I I would bemanually'rotated to its 180 degree position,

ing to its non-recording position by the operator i manually rotating the flag and thereby engaging the end of the slot 51 with the pin 58 thereby rotating the shaft I!) with the flag "When the flag reaches its recording position,

the arm 63 of the'pawl 68 passes beyond the circular plate 64 and the spring 62 presses the ear home position by rotating the crank l9 which operates the printing and resetting mechanism as shown in the said patent. None of this structure is shown in this application as it is fully shown and described in the said patent.

There is nothing to prevent the driver from printing the record and returning the flag shaft to its home position even though the passenger may continue to occupy the vehicle but if he does this, the parts will again be brought into the position shown in Figure 9 and the motor will immediately be operated a second time, charging an additional fare, so that the driver hasn't cheated anybody but himself.

As soon as the passenger takes his seat the flag light is illuminated through the lead 82, contact 12, plate 44, contact 74 and lead 15. The only reason that there is any plate 44 necessary is in case the driver would hold the flag against rotation the light would still be lit because the plate 44 is as long as, or longer, than the slot 51.

Once in a long while, a passenger might hire a taxicab and momentarily take his seat and almost immediately jump up and leave the cab;

Under these conditions, it would bebarely possi- '75 The driver should now manually complete the throw of the flag and when he does so he moves the block 46 to its 102degree and its 180 degree positions but this does not move the gear 33.

If now I attempted to use the hand crank IS, the

block 40 would be reversely rotated until the notch 5| reached the pawl 36 and the "entire machine would be locked up. To prevent such an occurrence I have provided the notch closing member 46 which normally moves withthe block 40. Just before the block 40 has reached its 180 degree position, the ear 52 carried on the member 46 would engage the lateral extension .84 of the circular plate 38 which would shift the member 46 relative to the block 40 so that the notch 50 in the member 46 would no longer be in alignment with the notch 5| in the flange 39. The pawl 36 is sufliciently wide to extend over both the flange 49 of the member Sand.- the flange 39 so that when we now rotate theblock 40 by the hand crank l9 to move it from its 180 degree position to its home position the nose of the pawl 36 cannot enter the notch 5| and,therefore, the block 40 and the shaft Hi can be returned to homeposition but'as soon as they are returned to home position the ear 53 of the member 46 will engage the lug 55 on the circular plate 38, which will again shift the member 46 so as to bring its notch 50 in alignment with the notch 5| on the flange 39. If now a second passenger took his seat, the machine is ready-to function in its normal way." The ear'6l is held out ofengagement with the notch except when the flag is in its recording position or in some position between'and including the recording position and its non-recording or 180 degree position, being held out of engagement in its home position or in all positions up to its recording position by means of the arm 63 engaging the circular plate 64.

' It is realized that occasionally a passenger may demand a printed receipt for his fare, such as shown in the said patent, and this receipt can only be issued by operating the hand crank 19, which would return the flag to its home position. If, for instance, it was a rainy evening and the passenger did not wish to get out of the cab or to even arise from his seat and still demanded his receipt, this could be accomplished by providing a contact 85 operated by the door. In the modification shown in Figure 12, if the door is opened this contact will break the circuit and the operator could, therefore, issue the ticket without again starting the motor while the passenger continues to occupy the seat, providing he had thedoor open.

I realize that many changes may be made in the specific form of the invention shown by way of illustration in this application and I, therefore, desire to claim the same broadly except as I may limit myself in the annexed claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1 In a taximeter, a motor, a flag shaft, a gear loosely mounted on said flag shaft and adapted to be driven by said motor, means whereby said gear, when operated, automatically drives said flag shaft to its operative position, and means whereby said last mentioned means is automatically rendered inoperative when said flag shaft has been moved to-its operative position.

2. Ina taximeter, a motor, a flag shaft, a rotatablemeans' connecting said motor and flag shaft soas to-drive said flag shaft, and means to automatically render inoperative said first mentioned means when the flag shaft has been moved to its operative position.

3. In--a:taximeter,-a motor, a flag shaft, rotatable means'whereby said flag shaft may be rotated by said motor, means to render said first mentioned means inoperative when the flag shaft has been moved to its operative position, and

means'whereby'said flag. shaft may be caused to rotate-to its home position. U

4; In a taximeter, a motor, a flag shaft, a'gear, means whereby said gear is driven by said motor,

means to connect automatically said gear to said flag shaft when said gear is rotated so as to move said flag shaft from its-home position to its operative position, means to disconnect said gear from :its driving engagement with'said flag shaft -when the said Lflag shaft has been moved to its operative positiomandmanual means whereby said flag shaftmiay be rotated -to its home position. L- v am a'ftaximeter, a flag shaft, a second shaft,

means interconnecting the said shafts, a flag, and a yieldable connection betweensaid flag and said second mentioned shaft.

"6. In i'af taximeter, a shaft, a flag loosely .:mounted thereon; and a yieldable-connection beshaft and flange, and means to close said notch when' said gear has been partially operated when said shaft is being reset.

8. In combination, a flag shaft, a flag rotatably mounted on said shaft, a spring resiliently "connecting said flag and flag shaft, and means whereby when the flag is rotated the flag shaft will be correspondingly rotated.

9; In combination, a flag shaft, a flag rotatably mounted on said shaft, and a spring wound around said shaft and resiliently connecting said flag and flag shaft.

10;"111 a taximeter, a control shaft, a flag, automatic means controlled by the weight of an object to rotate said control shaft to operative position, and means interconnecting said flag and shaft whereby said flag is moved by the rotation of said shaft unless the flag is restrained from such movement.

11. In a taximeter, a shaft, means to rotate said shaft to operative position, means operated by the weight of an object to control partially the said movement of said shaft, a flag normally rotatable with said shaft, and a means which will yield so as to permit said shaft to be sorotated even if the flag is held against movement.

.12. In combination, an electric motor, a taximeter control shaft, means whereby said said motor when actuated will drive said shaft from its 1forhire to its operative position, a flag rotatably mounted on said shaft, and a resilient connection between said shaft and said flag so that said motor when actuated will rotate said shaft to operative position even though the flag is held against rotation.

' GROVERv C. COIL. 

